How to entertain baby in Sampa
I was recently watching a sketch by the British comedian Micky Flanagan about the delights of child rearing. They wake up at 6.30am (if you’re lucky) and by about 7.30am you’re running out of ideas about what to do with them. Yes pretty accurate.
Living in São Paulo is a funny place when it comes to entertaining baby. On the one hand, people are generally very child friendly. Shops, banks and many other institutions have preferential queues for mums and babies and whenever we’re out and about waiting at the traffic lights or queuing somewhere everyone talks to my 10-month old daughter (fair enough, she is cuter than me). Yet on the other hand, mum and baby groups – important for both mine and my daughter’s sanity – or play groups don’t really exist here. Or certainly not in the way that they do back in the UK.
I guess I knew it would have been like this. Having come from Buenos Aires, which was pretty similar, the culture is more family-oriented and about who you know so there is little incentive to set up such groups. Yet, I don’t have family in São Paulo so what does one do?
1. Go to the hospital/medical institution
I don't want my daughter, or I for that fact, to be sick – far from it. However, my daughter is quite a social little thing and loves seeing people and a hospital is guaranteed to have a lot of people. Luckily, we have private medical cover so the hospitals and medical clinics we go to are quite nice places. We’ve somehow managed to schedule a weekly trip to the hospital or the doctor’s, not for the fun of it, but she, or I, end up seeing at least one medical specialist once a week as there isn’t a GP system here.
2. Hire a cleaner
I was under no illusion that I would have been able to keep our flat clean and look after a baby. I have been very relieved to find that not only does our cleaner clean (as expected), but she also looks after and plays with my daughter. The added bonus is that my daughter gets to hear Portuguese from a native (rather than from me in a terrible accent).
3. Go shopping
My daughter hates being in her buggy but if we go to the shops there’s always someone who will stop and talk to her. In addition, there are often dedicated children's play areas in bigger stores, especially homeware stores such as Tok & Stok (similar to Ikea).
4. Swimming lessons
This has been an absolute godsend. I was originally told me that my daughter would only be able to start after the age of one. I couldn’t bear the thought of having to wait until then and pleaded with the swimming teacher to let her start asap. We now go twice a week and my daughter sleeps so well after the class. Bliss.
5. Play areas
This is not the same as play groups, like the ones in the UK or North America. These are spaces with dedicated toys and educational activities where you pay by the hour. It’s certainly not cheap - looking at about £20 for about an hour/hour and a half vs tuppence, but it’s a good option once in a while.
6. Creche
If all else fails, there's always the crèche. In all seriousness I am planning to send my daughter to a crèche next year for her sake as well as my own. The costs of some of the nurseries/pre-schools where we live, in a lovely neighbourhood called Pinheiros, are on a par with the UK – about £400 a month for 4 hours for three days a week here compared with about £465 in the UK for 25 hours for a child under two.
Considering that I’m not really working yet, that’s quite a hefty sum. Luckily, I’ve found a cute little place within a five-minute walk for practically half the price. She can meet other babies/toddlers while I sort out my life a bit. We’ve already visited the prospective place twice now and both times she was very excited. Pleasing.
Entertaining baby is not always easy or cheap in São Paulo but when you’re running out of ideas, who can put a price on it...?
Living in São Paulo is a funny place when it comes to entertaining baby. On the one hand, people are generally very child friendly. Shops, banks and many other institutions have preferential queues for mums and babies and whenever we’re out and about waiting at the traffic lights or queuing somewhere everyone talks to my 10-month old daughter (fair enough, she is cuter than me). Yet on the other hand, mum and baby groups – important for both mine and my daughter’s sanity – or play groups don’t really exist here. Or certainly not in the way that they do back in the UK.
I guess I knew it would have been like this. Having come from Buenos Aires, which was pretty similar, the culture is more family-oriented and about who you know so there is little incentive to set up such groups. Yet, I don’t have family in São Paulo so what does one do?
1. Go to the hospital/medical institution
I don't want my daughter, or I for that fact, to be sick – far from it. However, my daughter is quite a social little thing and loves seeing people and a hospital is guaranteed to have a lot of people. Luckily, we have private medical cover so the hospitals and medical clinics we go to are quite nice places. We’ve somehow managed to schedule a weekly trip to the hospital or the doctor’s, not for the fun of it, but she, or I, end up seeing at least one medical specialist once a week as there isn’t a GP system here.
2. Hire a cleaner
I was under no illusion that I would have been able to keep our flat clean and look after a baby. I have been very relieved to find that not only does our cleaner clean (as expected), but she also looks after and plays with my daughter. The added bonus is that my daughter gets to hear Portuguese from a native (rather than from me in a terrible accent).
3. Go shopping
My daughter hates being in her buggy but if we go to the shops there’s always someone who will stop and talk to her. In addition, there are often dedicated children's play areas in bigger stores, especially homeware stores such as Tok & Stok (similar to Ikea).
4. Swimming lessons
This has been an absolute godsend. I was originally told me that my daughter would only be able to start after the age of one. I couldn’t bear the thought of having to wait until then and pleaded with the swimming teacher to let her start asap. We now go twice a week and my daughter sleeps so well after the class. Bliss.
5. Play areas
This is not the same as play groups, like the ones in the UK or North America. These are spaces with dedicated toys and educational activities where you pay by the hour. It’s certainly not cheap - looking at about £20 for about an hour/hour and a half vs tuppence, but it’s a good option once in a while.
6. Creche
If all else fails, there's always the crèche. In all seriousness I am planning to send my daughter to a crèche next year for her sake as well as my own. The costs of some of the nurseries/pre-schools where we live, in a lovely neighbourhood called Pinheiros, are on a par with the UK – about £400 a month for 4 hours for three days a week here compared with about £465 in the UK for 25 hours for a child under two.
Considering that I’m not really working yet, that’s quite a hefty sum. Luckily, I’ve found a cute little place within a five-minute walk for practically half the price. She can meet other babies/toddlers while I sort out my life a bit. We’ve already visited the prospective place twice now and both times she was very excited. Pleasing.
Entertaining baby is not always easy or cheap in São Paulo but when you’re running out of ideas, who can put a price on it...?
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